ABSTRACT
Niuheliang is a recently discovered Chinese site with several unexpected features, including life-sized female statues, an irregularly shaped building which is interpreted as a ceremonial center, a group of high-status burials, and a large number of finely worked jade ornaments. Before describing the site of Niuheliang and its 'Goddess Temple' in some detail, it will be useful to frame the discussion with some theoretical issues. The female iconography might be interpreted as indicating a previously unsuspected high status for women in the beginning of complex society in China, but such an interpretation needs to be made with care. In the case of Niuheliang, it considers the female figures as a script from which we can hypothesize female power, status, or autonomy, independent supporting data are required. I will consider two lines of evidence: continuous threads in Chinese culture which could be followed back to women of power, and skeletal evidence from the site itself.
